Nature of God, God as mother
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
पुरविली आळी । जे जे केली ते ते काळीं ॥१॥
माय तरी ऐसी सांगा । कृपाळुवा पांडुरंगा ॥ध्रु.॥
घेतलें नुतरी । उचलोनि कडियेवरी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे घांस । मुखीं घाली ब्रम्हरस ॥३॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Every wish I ever made, he fulfilled at the right time. Tell me, is there any mother like this, O compassionate Panduranga? When I could not stand on my own, he lifted me onto his hip. Says Tuka, he places morsels of the supreme nectar in my mouth with his own hand.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Every demand I made, he met it, each one in its own time. Tell me, is there any mother like this, merciful Panduranga? When I could not get up by myself, he lifted me onto his hip. Tuka says: he puts the morsel in my mouth, the morsel of the nectar of Brahman.
What it means
Tukaram describes God's care through the plainest of images, the tenderness of a mother. Every wish the devotee ever made was granted, and granted at the right time, so the giving is wise and not merely indulgent. When he could not even stand on his own, God lifted him up and carried him on the hip as a mother carries a child. And the food this mother feeds is no ordinary food but the nectar of Brahman, the taste of God himself, placed into the mouth by his own hand. The point is that the supreme reality is not distant or austere but intimately, maternally caring, raising and feeding the helpless devotee.
The Nature of God
Explorations of God's character, power, grace, and relationship to the world.
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